Small Wars Journal

Marine Raiders Led Counterattack Against al-Shabab Militants at Manda Bay, Kenya

Thu, 01/23/2020 - 12:15am

Marine Raiders Led Counterattack Against al-Shabab Militants at Manda Bay, Kenya by Philip Athey and Shawn Snow – Marine Corps Times

A team of Marine Raiders led the response against al-Shabab militants who raided the Kenya Defense Force Military Base at Manda Bay, Kenya, in early January, killing three Americans, multiple sources told Marine Corps Times.

The Jan. 5 attack by al-Shabab on the base housing U.S. troops resulted in the death of one U.S. service member and two Department of Defense contractors. The East African terrorist group, which is affiliated with al-Qaida, also destroyed a number of contractor-operated civilian aircraft before the Marines arrived.

Multiple sources within the Marine Raider community told Marine Corps Times that about a dozen Marines from 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, led Kenyan commandos against the Islamic militants.

The Marines engaged in an intense firefight with the al-Shabab militants, the sources said, ultimately pushing the Islamic fighters out of the military base…

Read on.